A CORRIE and Hollyoaks heartthrob who once gave up the telly for a normal job is now planning a huge comeback.
Adam Rickitt, 45, landed a new soap role, more than 20 years after he appeared on Coronation Street.
He'd stepped away from acting first in 1999, and then 2004, and in recent years started working in hospitality.
The 45-year-old is now set to start in the long-running BBC soap Doctors as he makes his return to the small screen.
Adam was famed for playing Corrie hunk Nick Tilsley, and in more recent years starred as Kyle Kelly in Hollyoaks.
Now he and wife Katy, who is a Good Morning Britain news reporter, had been running Cheshire micro-bar Dexter & Jones.
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The couple sells more than 450 different types of craft beer and 150 varieties of gin at the hip business, and Adam is said to be very hands-on.
He was recently spotted dressed in sports gear carrying barrels into the bar.
Adam made his first big break when he starred in Corrie from 1997 to 1999 and then from 2002 to 2004.
Back then Adam's blonde curtains and ripped six-pack afforded him heartthrob status.
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He also had a go at making it big in music - signing a six-album deal with Polydor although he only released one, Good Times.
His first single Breathe Again went to number five but the album only got to 41 in the charts and Adam was subsequently dropped.
In 2014 he joined the pop group 5th Story on The Big Reunion, before taking on the role in Hollyoaks until his character's heartbreaking suicide.
Adam's role in Doctors was recently revealed by The Sun.
An insider said: “Adam was amongst the best soap actors in the country so it was only a matter of time before he landed a new role.
“He’s really excited to get started on Doctors and bosses can’t wait to see how viewers react to him.
“Adam has spent a lot of time working on his bar but is in a position to get back to acting now.”